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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26060962">Smells like home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple'>ToxicPineapple</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Background Tenmaki, Coming Home from Space, Crying, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hngghnh they're in love, M/M, Post Hope's Peak Academy, Reunions, That's right babey it's time, coming home</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:22:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26060962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When it hits fifty one, the doors open up behind him and a pair of arms throw themselves around his shoulders, and Rantaro knows before he turns around that Kaede is here, just like she promised she would be. He finds a smile through his anxiety (because sure he watched the spaceship come in but something could’ve gone wrong in the meantime, maybe Kaito’s having a hard time adjusting to being back on earth again, maybe he got too sick, maybe something inconceivable happened, it wouldn’t be the first time) and turns himself around, looping his arms around Kaede’s abdomen. She’s a bit taller now than she was in high school, but Rantaro still has to lean down a bit to embrace her properly.</p><p>She smells like honeysuckle and morning dew and sunshine, but she doesn’t smell like home.</p><p>---</p><p>Kaito comes home from space.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi (background), Amami Rantaro/Momota Kaito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Smells like home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Technically, Kaito’s been home for six hours already, but between unloading the ship and getting back to headquarters from the launchpad, there’s just been a lot to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Least, that’s what Rantaro’s understanding of the whole thing is; Kaito briefed him on it six months ago, back in June, when he was about to leave, and there have been countless emails between him and JAXA since then, confirming pick-up times and all the other details. There’s sort of had to have been. As much as you plan in advance for things, life is messy, and accidents happen, and sometimes things take longer than you expect them to. Rantaro doesn’t want to be a second late to pick up his boyfriend, he wants to be there the </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kaito steps out of the building, so he hasn’t been taking his chances.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He especially hasn’t been taking his chances. Last night, the night before Kaito’s spaceship touched the ground, Rantaro rented a hotel room nearby JAXA headquarters, the very one Kaito used to stay at during high school when he would leave the academy for weeks at a time to do his astronaut training. Admittedly, Rantaro spent most of the night pacing his hotel room, running through all the things that could go wrong over and over again in his head, so it wasn’t the most restful experience, but he’s here now, so he considers that a success.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Honestly, Rantaro’s gone longer without seeing people before. Way longer. Most of Rantaro’s sisters are still lost, scattered around the world, in places where he hasn’t been able to get to them. (There’s a part of him that feels bad even now for being here and not there, for coming to pick up his boyfriend and ride the train with him back to their apartment rather than hopping on a plane to New York or Spain on a whim, but Rantaro’s trying his best to ignore it. There’s really nowhere else he’d rather be right now.) Kaito was only up in space for six months. It’s not a particularly long time to go without a person.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or, it shouldn’t be, but if Rantaro is being honest, the past half a year has felt like an eternity. The times he hasn’t spent following updates on Kaito’s mission and writing letters for his boyfriend to read when he gets back have been spent abroad, searching tirelessly for his sisters. And it’s not all losses, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>found </span>
  </em>
  <span>Satsuki three months back in Berlin the last time he went, but god the time has never passed slower. Usually Rantaro’s life slips by him in a blur, leaving him disoriented and unable to process exactly how many days, weeks, or months have gone by, but every day on his calendar has been marked with a big red X on the day of. The time has been excruciating, not least of all because he’s felt so unsteady the past half year.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Prior to Kaito’s launch, Rantaro didn’t really realise… just how much stability Kaito adds to his life. Like, obviously Rantaro isn’t the type to take things for granted (he did that back before his sisters were lost and vowed never to do it again) but it’s hard to understand the full extent of how much a person is a comforting presence in your life until they’re out of it for a while. That’s not to say that Rantaro can’t get on without him-- getting dependent is bad even if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen to lose everyone who gets close to you, Rantaro really can’t afford that kind of relationship-- because he could, theoretically, it’s just that he doesn’t particularly want to. Kaito makes things better, safer, more comfortable. He’s sweet and passionate and he makes their apartment by the airport feel like a home, and not just a place for Rantaro to stand around in the days between flights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That apartment has felt so empty the past six months. The only way that pressure has even been slightly alleviated has been when Rantaro’s written Kaito letters, but even then… there’s only so much catharsis you can get out of writing down words on a paper. Rantaro can write all the fancy words in the world. Nothing will replace the way it feels when Kaito’s arms are around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>None of that matters anymore, though, at least not right this second. (He’s sure they’ll get back to the apartment later and the high will have worn off a bit, and then Kaito will remark that all his things are exactly as he left them, and laugh at all the takeout boxes on the coffee table, and then Rantaro will spill how </span>
  <em>
    <span>lonely </span>
  </em>
  <span>he felt in Kaito’s absence, but that’ll be then. This is now.) Rantaro got to JAXA headquarters half an hour early, and he’s been standing in the lobby by the security guard trying not to tap his foot too furiously. When it hit the fifteen-minute mark, other family members began to show up, and now Rantaro is checking his phone every few seconds, counting every time the number on the clock changes. Forty six. Then forty seven. Forty eight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When it hits fifty one, the doors open up behind him and a pair of arms throw themselves around his shoulders, and Rantaro knows before he turns around that Kaede is here, just like she promised she would be. He finds a smile through his anxiety (because sure he watched the spaceship come in but something could’ve gone wrong in the meantime, maybe Kaito’s having a hard time adjusting to being back on earth again, maybe he got too sick, maybe something inconceivable happened, it wouldn’t be the first time) and turns himself around, looping his arms around Kaede’s abdomen. She’s a bit taller now than she was in high school, but Rantaro still has to lean down a bit to embrace her properly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smells like honeysuckle and morning dew and sunshine, but she doesn’t smell like home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you excited?” Kaede murmurs, in his ear, and Rantaro nods his head; </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’s excited, he hasn’t seen Kaito in half a year. He can’t find the words to convey just how excited he is, though, (so excited it came out on the other end and turned into anxious fear, of something going wrong, of Kaito not coming back for some reason,) so he just nods some more, and hugs Kaede a little tighter. She’s warm, at least, if not as warm as Kaito, and it’s comforting, it really is.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shuichi comes in behind her, adjusting his beanie, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, and when Kaede pulls out of the embrace, he rests a hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder, squeezing it briefly before he steps forward to hug Rantaro too. Shuichi’s embrace is more gentle than Kaede’s, and cooler, but it’s familiar, too, in that way you recognise a person who’s been there for you more than almost anyone else, even if you don’t talk so much anymore. Shuichi smells like old books and cinnamon and rose tea and comfort, but like Kaede, he doesn’t smell like home, either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon pulling back, Shuichi smiles, and says softly, “I haven’t seen you since his launch,” and Rantaro thinks it’s kind of funny, kind of sweet, that they don’t need to specify who Shuichi is talking about. Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>would he be talking about? “Have you been taking care of yourself?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, not really, </span>
  </em>
  <span>say the three new scars on Rantaro’s person; one on his hip, one in the small of his back, and one on his left side, but Rantaro isn’t quite sure what answer Shuichi was expecting to get out of him, so he smiles. “You know me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shuichi’s expression clouds, just the slightest bit, but it clears a moment later, and he smiles again, ducking his head a bit. “I’m sure anything I have to say, Kaito will say better,” he explains, as he moves back completely and reaches for Kaede’s hand. (Kaede takes it, looking between them with her brows slightly raised, as though she doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>know what that exchange was just now, but she gets the picture. Rantaro thinks this is what she’s thinking, because her eyes narrow slightly when they land on him. Haha, oops.) “Maki and Chabashira-san got stuck in traffic, but they’ll be here soon, uhm,” Shuichi rubs the back of his neck with his free hand, “Chabashira-san asked Kaede to lift Kaito off the ground with a hug in her stead but I’m not sure…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna try my best!” Kaede asserts, pumping a fist. “And if I fail, then Tenko can just throw him twice as hard when she gets here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe nobody should be throwing him?” Rantaro suggests, chuckling slightly. “Seems like a pretty weird welcome home present, doesn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you criticising Tenko?” Kaede’s eyes narrow further. Rantaro holds up both of his hands in a placating gesture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could never.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s… weird how easily the banter comes back with these two, considering how long it’s been since he’s seen them. Rantaro can almost feel himself crawling back out again, finding the person he was before he retreated onto an airplane or, when he’s been in town, into that empty old apartment of theirs. It’s strange to be here, strange to think that Maki and Tenko are going to be here, and then when they go out to eat the rest of the class after them. Rantaro almost doesn’t know if he’ll be able to get through it, seeing everyone again and all at </span>
  <em>
    <span>once, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but it’s… not a bad feeling, really, to be bantering again, even if it is a bit overwhelming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kaede and Shuichi strike up a conversation amongst themselves. Shuichi has his phone out, so Rantaro assumes it’s something to do with Maki and Tenko’s imminent arrival. He turns away from them, because even when they’re not acting all coupley, it sort of feels like intruding sometimes to hop in on conversations that they didn’t initially drag him into. Maybe a part of that is just Rantaro, automatically taking himself out of the equation in the way he has since high school, but also Kaede and Shuichi have been joint at the hip since the first week of school. It’s really not unreasonable to feel this way. Rantaro doesn’t mind third wheeling, but damn it’s awkward after six months of virtually nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He glances at his own phone, since he’s no longer actively being hugged, glancing at the time. It’s been five minutes, which means it’s four minutes until Kaito and the rest of his crew is supposed to come out. It’s a bit crowded in here, to be honest. Under normal circumstances, Rantaro would have to slip right out the door and catch his breath. He doesn’t fare well with crowds. But these are far from normal circumstances, and if Rantaro steps outside for even a </span>
  <em>
    <span>minute </span>
  </em>
  <span>and something goes wrong… no, he’s staying here. He even moves forward a bit, ducking between small groups of people, lifting a hand to shield his eyes, looking between the double doors at the end of the lobby (the ones that lead to the stairs) and his cell phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three minutes left. Two minutes left. One minute.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing happens when the hour hits, actually. Life is rarely so precise. Rantaro was expecting it, even. It’s not like they set out a timer for two o’clock on the dot, or anything. Even still, when the hour hits, Rantaro finds himself looking between his phone and the door more frequently, the knot in his chest tightening. The seconds pass by even slower than they have the past half year, ticking in the back of his mind, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>god, </span>
  </em>
  <span>ever single one that passes he’s more and more certain that something went wrong, that something happened, that Kaito went to space and never came home, the way he confessed to Rantaro that he wanted to do back in the middle of their third year--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>and then those double doors swing right on open, and a couple staff come out, a couple people Rantaro doesn’t recognise, and then--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kaito is…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The way he walks is different, just a bit. A bit unsteady, uneven, like he’s not used to having both feet on the ground. His complexion is roughly the same, strangely enough-- space is so dark, in all the pictures Rantaro’s seen, so he’d thought that Kaito would be a bit paler, but maybe he’ll ask about it later on-- but his hair is longer, and his goatee is messier, and his chin is dotted with stubble. No hair gel, obviously, but his hair is braided back and tucked into the neck of his jacket, which is a bit stiff and a bit crinkly in all the wrong places, but it’s a pale purple and it brings out his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And oh, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Kaito gets close enough, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>when he gets close enough, Rantaro manages to meet his gaze, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>god, </span>
  </em>
  <span>even through the lens of his glasses, his eyes are still the same warm, vibrant lilac as they were were when he left. Of course they are-- why wouldn’t they be? But Rantaro’s breath hitches when he meets them all the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then he’s moving, against his volition (not that Rantaro would stop himself from going, even if he could), and it’s just like finding Mahoko in Italy all over again, his breath is all choked and his throat is all tight and his eyes are burning--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--but none of it matters until Kaito is there, right </span>
  <em>
    <span>there, </span>
  </em>
  <span>right in front of Rantaro, close enough that they could be trading breaths, close enough that Rantaro could reach out and touch his face, drag his fingers down and cup his jaw, lightly curl his fingers around his chin, he could, he,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>hesitates,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>for just a moment, for some reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kaito is--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>he’s right here, he’s real, he’s real and whole and smiling at him, a little bit incredulously, like he’s taking him in, and neither of his hands are moving either, and Rantaro is just waiting for one of them to move but they aren’t, they’re both just standing here, and Rantaro’s breaths keep hitching and Kaito’s blinking so fast there are tears tangling in his eyelashes and Rantaro wants so desperately just to wipe them all away--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>and then Kaito says, “Hey, I’m home,” and his voice is a little bit rough but it is in every way what Rantaro remembered it as being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re home,” Rantaro repeats, his voice a bit thick, and Kaito smiles wider, at that, something almost sad shining in his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Rantaro wonders if he meant to come home, if he didn’t think of staying up there among the stars once or twice, if he didn’t take what he called the easy way out, the grand finale.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I missed you,” Rantaro says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Kaito replies. He shudders a little, his shoulders curling in, his eyes closing them, and when they </span>
  <em>
    <span>open, </span>
  </em>
  <span>there are tears escaping, and Rantaro finds himself following suit. “Yeah, me too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Kaito’s arms are just as warm, just as familiar and strong and comforting, as Rantaro remembers them being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He smells like plastic and generic shampoo and new car scent, like hotel mints and new places and just a hint of sweat,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>but beyond all of that, Kaito smells like home.)</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hohohohohohoho amamota hyperfixation go BRRRRR</p><p>also tenko and maki are :/ girlfriends sorry to break it to you</p><p>might fuck around and write some saimatsu tonight idk</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>i'm sorry the title is so weird i like smells but that one just came out wrong</p></blockquote></div></div>
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